A fast start, a tight finish

EA7 Emporio Armani Milano beat Virtus Bologna 87-85 at the Unipol Forum in Euroleague Round 2, and they did it the hard way. A 30-20 first quarter gave Milano early control, and a 47-41 halftime lead looked comfortable. Bologna then flipped the script in the third, winning it 26-19 to go up 67-66 after three. That set up a tense final period with lead changes and big shots on both sides.

The last minute belonged to Devon Hall. The Milano guard buried a three for 85-83, watched Aliou Diarra tie it with one second left, then answered with the winner on the very next possession. The incident log shows both buckets at 39:59, which tells you everything about the timing. Virtus had no window for a final heave. It ended 87-85, a home win built on early dominance and late composure.

Rebounds vs ball movement: what really decided it

Milano lived on the glass, and that shaped the result. They won total rebounds 43-34 and grabbed a telling 16 offensive boards to Bologna’s 9. Those extra chances mattered because field-goal accuracy slightly favored Virtus, who shot 47% to Milano’s 45%. In short, Milano’s volume beat Bologna’s efficiency.

Virtus moved the ball better, finishing with 20 assists to Milano’s 12. Marcus Carr dished 9 and Trent Frazier added 5, a big reason Bologna created a 31/66 shooting line despite fewer attempts. Milano offset that with second-chance points and timely threes. The hosts hit 10 three-pointers from 30 tries, while Virtus made 8 of 24. Both teams sat at 33% from deep, but Milano’s extra makes were the small edge that stuck.

How the shot profile stacked up

Inside the arc, Virtus were a touch sharper at 23/42 on twos, good for 55%. Milano answered 23/44 on twos at 52%, so that gap was narrow. The real swing came from attempts, not accuracy. Milano took 74 field goals to Bologna’s 66, directly tied to those 16 offensive rebounds and a slight pace push off their stops.

At the line, Bologna won the math 15/18 (83%) against Milano’s 11/15 (73%). That plus 2 in free throws helped keep Virtus within a possession late, even after trailing by as many as 15. Blocks and steals leaned Bologna too, with 4 blocks and 8 steals to Milano’s 2 and 6. Yet turnovers finished close, 11 for Milano and 9 for Virtus, meaning the extra Bologna takeaways did not translate into a decisive possession margin.

Clutch sequence and standout performers

Milano’s endgame execution started with a Hall three to make it 80-77, then needed a second push when Bobi Klintman and Marcus Carr answered from deep for Bologna. Hall cut it to 82-83 with a two, then hit the go-ahead three for 85-83. Diarra’s bucket at 39:59 tied it, but Hall delivered again for 87-85 with one second on the clock. It was an ice-cold final minute, even by Euroleague standards.

Marko Guduric led Milano with 14 points and 3 offensive rebounds, while Darius Thompson added 12 on 5/8 shooting and 2 threes. Moses Wright chipped in 11 on 80% from the field, with 7 rebounds. RJ Cole provided 11 and 3 assists off the bench, and Jason Burnell swung energy with 10 rebounds, 2 assists and a block. On the Virtus side, Aliou Diarra was immense: 15 points on 6/9, 7 boards and 4 blocks. Wendell Moore Jr scored 12 on efficient looks, Carr posted a 10-point, 9-assist line, and Derrick Alston Jr reached 10 despite a tough 3/11 night.

Ratings check and game flow

On Sofascore, Diarra topped all players with an 8.1 Sofascore Rating, a fair nod to his two-way impact. Carr followed at 7.6, backed by those 9 assists and late shot-making. For Milano, Thompson’s 7.5 reflected a clean scoring night and 2 steals, while Guduric posted 7.1 with a balanced line. Burnell checked in at 7.0 thanks to the glasswork, and Hall’s clutch heroics came with a 6.8 after 12 points on 4/7 shooting.

The flow backed Milano’s control for long stretches. Time in lead finished 28:57 to 6:05 for the hosts, with a biggest lead of 15. Virtus kept the door open with a third-quarter surge and a 9-0 max run, but Milano’s 7-0 best burst and steadier rebounding presence steadied the ship. The fourth quarter read 21-18 to Milano, the smallest of cushions, and exactly what the final would suggest.

What fans can revisit in the box score

If you are rewatching the key possessions, start with the final 90 seconds. The sequence of Hall’s three, Carr’s answer, Hall’s two, and the last-second exchange with Diarra before the winner are pure Euroleague drama. Also look at how Milano crashed the offensive glass on missed threes, which quietly added up to extra points.

For the full play-by-play, player stats and live momentum chart, head to the game page on Sofascore. The numbers line up with what the eye test said: Milano’s rebounding and timely shooting edged out Bologna’s ball movement and rim protection. In a game decided at 39:59, every extra shot mattered.